Dispensing device for textile fibres



Dec. 24, 1968 M. MASUREL 3,417,436

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE FIBRES Filed Jan. 10, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG I wve/vroz MICHEL MASUREL.

. HTTMA/EYS Dec. 24, 1968 M. MASUREL 3,417,436

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE FIBRES Filed Jan. 10, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOE. MICHEL MASUKEL A TTOBVEXS Dec. 24, 1968 M. MASUREL DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE FIBRES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 10, 1966 0 m m m mmflp m wa A Dec. 24, 1968 M. MASUREL 3,417,436

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR TEXTILE FIBRES Filed Jan. 10, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l/vvelvroz MICHEL MASH/6E1.

A TTORNEYS 1 4 Claims. (Cl. 19-253 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispensing device for textile fibres comprising a first cooperating roll means for introducing textile fibres, a second cooperating roll means spaced from said first cooperating roll means and a fibre engaging means disposed between said first and second cooperating roll means and wherein said fibre engaging means includes a pair of feeding and controlling rollers provided with needle-like projections that contact the surface of the textile fibres; positive means are provided to actuate the cooperating roll means, the feeding roller means and the controlling roller means at peripheral speeds such that the peripheral speed of the feeding roller is less than that of the cooperating roll means and the peripheral speed of the controlling roller is less than that of the the feeding roller.

This invention relates to textile processing apparatus and machines and more particularly it relates to an improved machine for dispensing and processing textile fibres in a manner which produces a more regular strand at a higher operating speed than could be accomplished with prior art forms of machines.

In particular, the present invention enables an inwardly feeding bundle of textile fibres to be processed into an oriented and compact strand of material which can then be wound into a suitable container. Because the device of the present invention can operate at high speeds and with heavy weights or thicknesses of textile fibres, and because of the improved feeding techniques of the device of the present invention, the strand thus produced never has an opportunity to inflate or fold over upon itself before the same is wound into its shipping container. Thus, the configuration of the strand will always be uniform and compact, with the fibres thereof being properly oriented. Also, because of the increased speed at which the device of the present invention can operate, a greater quantity of strand can be produced in any given unit of time.

In general, the apparatus of the present invention includes a first pair of cooperating roll means for introducing textile fibres into the apparatus and a second pair of cooperating roll means spaced away from the first set thereof, for dispensing textile fibres out of the apparatus. Between this first and second set of cooperating roll means, an engaging means is provided for processin g the textile fibres traveling through the apparatus. The engaging means includes a pair of spaced apart rollers, each of which has a plurality of needle-like projections formed upon their outer surface. These rollers can nominally by defined as a feeding roller and a controlling roller, and these two rollers are spaced apart a sufiicient distance so that the needle-like projections on one will not intersect or intermesh with the needle-like projections on the other. The feeding roller is disposed closest to the first cooperating roll means or feeding cylinders, while the controlling roller is located closest to the second cooperating roll means or dispensing cylinders.

The needle-like projections on the controlling roller are somewhat shorter than the needle-like projections on nited States Patent Patented Dec. 24, 1968 the feeding roller, and each of these rollers rotate at a slightly different speed, so that the peripheral speeds at the extremities of the needle-like projections are different. The feeding roller, which is located closest to the infeed cylinders, operates at a speed in the order of 97% to 103% of the speed of the infeed cylinders or first cooperating roll means. The controlling roller which is disposed closest to the dispensing cylinders operates at a slightly slower speed, in the order of to 96% 0 the speed of the infeed cylinders or first cooperating roll means.

Giving some consideration to the operation of the second cooperating roll means or dispensing cylinders, it will be appreciated that the pressure of these cylinders is very high, somewhere in the order of 8 kilograms per centimeter of feeding table width. Because of this high pressure, the apparatus is able to receive textile fibres having a weight of between 8 grams per meter and 30 grams per meter, and can then pull or compress these fibres into strands having a weight or density of between 3 grams per meter and 10 grams per meter, such strands being dispensed at an exit speed in excess of 50 meters per minute.

It is preferable that in operation of the apparatus of the present invention, both the feeding roller and the controlling roller are disposed on the same side of the nap of the textile fibres, preferably beneath the same.

The apparatus of the present invention also includes pressure members formed of rotating cylinders having circular faces which act against the corresponding faces on the feeding roller and the controlling roller. In the preferred embodiment, one such pressure cylinders abuts or cooperates with both the feeding roller and the controlling roller, for advancing the fibres during a dispensing operation, while another pressure cylinder cooperates only with the feeding roller.

Insofar as the dispensing cylinders are concerned, the embodiment shown herein has the uppermost cylinder mounted on a pivotal arm whose movement controls the pressure of the upper cylinder against the lower cylinder. The pivoting arm movement is controlled by the action of a spring having a comparatively great length with respect to the amplitude of its stretching movements, such spring thereby assuring relatively firm pressure between the two dispensing rollers during operation of the apparatus.

In the particular form of the apparatus described herein, the dispensing cylinders are formed in pairs of upper and lower cylinders, with two such pairs being affixed to the extremities of a central arbor which receives the pressure from the pivoting arm described hereinabove.

The invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the upper portion of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 isa top plan schematic view of a conventional prior art form of dispensing apparatus; and,

FIGURE 5 is a top plan schematic view of the apparatus of the present invention.

In the illustrated form of invention, and as can best be seen in FIGURE 2, the machine includes four feeding or dispensing heads T1, T2, T3 and T4. These heads, as shown, are associated in pairs, with heads T1 and T2 forming one pair and with heads T3 and T4 forming another pair. It will, however, be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to a machine with four operating heads, or even to a machine where the heads are necessarily associated in pairs.

Considering the construction of one such head. in detail, attention is directed to FIGURE 1. In that figure, there is shown a first cooperating roll means or pair of feeding and cylinders 1 and 2. The textile fibres 24 entering the machine pass through these infeed cylinders. There is also provided a second cooperating roll means spaced away from the cylinders 1 and 2 for dispensing the textile fibres 24 from the machine. The second cooperating roll means includes a pair of dispensing cylinders 3 and 4 and also includes another lower dispensing cylinder 5 arranged in such a way that the upper dispensing cylinder 4 rests simultaneously upon the two lower dispensing cylinders 3 and 5.

If the infeeding textile fibres 24 are considered as a point of reference, the cylinders 1, 3 and 5 are below the same while the cylinders 2 and 4 are above the same. The lower cylinders 1, 3 and 5 are grooved or fluted, as can best be seen in FIGURE 2, while the upper pressure applying cylinders 2 and 4 are provided with flexible cylindrical linings of plastic material (not shown in the drawings).

As was previously indicated, the preferred form of the present invention associates the parts in pairs. Thus, as shown in FIGURE 2, the two upper dispensing cylinders 4 of the two heads of the same pair, i.e., heads T1 and T2, are mounted upon the ends of a shaft or arbor which in turn is supported by a semi-circular mounting means 16 to a pressure applying pivot arm 11, as can best be seen in FIGURE 3. The pressure arm 11 is supported by the frame 8 of the machine and is pivotal about an axis 12 under the influence or action of a spring system dsecribed hereinafter. The central portion of the arbor 15 and its semi-circular mount 16 are so situated that each upper cylinder 4 is conveniently disposed properly above its corresponding lower cylinders 3 and 5.

Turning attention to the feeding cylinders 1 and 2, it will be seen that for each pair of heads, the uppermost cylinders 2 are likewise mounted upon a shaft or arbor whose extremities freely and rotatably fit within the vertical slots of a pair of mounting means 17 affixed to the frame 8 of the machine. Thus, these upper feeding cylinders 2 are freely rotatable and engaged against the lower feeding cylinders 1 due to the action of gravity and to their own weight, since these upper cylinders are freely mounted in vertical openings in the mounting means 17, as can best be seen in dotted lines in FIGURE 3.

As previously described, and as shown in the various drawings, the first cooperating roll means or feeding rollers 1 and 2 are spaced some distance away from the second cooperating roll means or dispensing cylinders 3 and 4 for each particular head of the machine. In the space between these first and second cooperating roll means, engaging means are provided for engaging the textile fibres 24 feeding through the machine. This engaging means includes a first or feeding roller 21 and a second or controlling roller 22, each of these rollers having needle-like projections on their exterior surfaces, in the manner shown in the drawings. The rollers 21 and 22 are spaced a certain distance from one another, with such distance being sufficient so that the needles on one roller do not penetrate into or intermesh with the needles on the other roller. Each of the rollers 21 and 22 are slidably mounted in arbors fixed to the frame 8 of the machine, with the feeding roller 21 being disposed closest to the feeding cylinders 1 and 2 and with the controlling roller 22 being disposed closest to the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4.

Considering now the particular characteristics of the rollers 21 and 22, it should first be appreciated that the needle-like projections on the controlling roller 22 are shorter and are of a greater concentration than the corresponding needle-like projections on the feeding roller 21. It is necessary that the feeding roller have longer needle-like projections to facilitate a good gripping or holding along the rear of the fiibres to be dispensed by the rollers 3 and 4.

It will also be noted that the diameter of the controlling roller 22 is smaller than that of the feeding roller 21, thereby permitting the controlling roller 22 to be located as near as possible to the nip between the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4. Also, by having a larger radius of curvature, the feeding roller 21 minimizes the curvature of the textile fibres 24 feeding through the machine, thereby facilitating dispensing of the same.

As a typical example, the feeding roller 21 can be formed with an interior diameter of 21 mm., an exterior diameter of 60 mm., and can 'be provided with No. 24 needles disposed in ninety rows of from 35 to 46 needles each. A corresponding controlling roller 22 would have an interior diameter of 37.5 mm., an exterior diameter of 45 mm., and could have No. 27 needles disposed in ninety two rows of 44 to 45 needles each.

Thus, as a general proposition, it can be stated that the controlling roller 22 is smaller than the feeding roller 21, is provided with more needles than the feeding roller 21, and is provided with shorter needles than the feeding roller 21. Naturally, any of the foregoing parameters such as diameter, concentration or needle size, can be varied from the specific amount given hereinabove in order to compensate for the different quality of textile material being passed through the machine.

As side from these foregoing factors which relate to the specific construction of the feeding roller 21 and the controlling roller 22, it must be noted that these rollers also operate at slightly different peripheral speeds in order to regulate the dispensing operation of the machine and in order to prevent the textile fibres 24 from wrapping into the needles themselves. As an example, let it be assumed that the machine is to dispense a strand having a weight or density of 8 grams per meter with such strand being dispensed at a speed of 120 meters per minute. In such event, if the feeding cylinders 1 and 2 are operating at a peripheral speed of 15 meters per minute, then the feeding roller 21 is operated at a peripheral speed of 14.9 meters per minute, while the controlling roller 22 is operated at a peripheral speed of 13.1 meters per minute. Naturally, the peripheral speed of the roller 21 and roller 22 are considered at the extremities of the needle-like projections thereon.

In the foregoing example, the speed of the feeding roller 21 was 99.3% of the speed of the feeding cylinders 1 and 2, and thus clearly fell within the acceptable range of 97% to 103%, mentioned hereinabove. Similarly, the speed of the controlling roller was 87.3% of the speed of the feeding cylinders 1 and 2, and thus fell within the range of to 96%, set forth hereinabove.

In operation, the feeding roller 21 serves to advance the material while controlling the mass of the same and also serves to hold the longer tails of the fibres 24. On the other hand, the controlling roller 22 serves to act as a comb which places the fibres in parallel order, thus disposing them in the best position for dispensing, and at the same time, serves to hold the shorter fibres and to control the overall mass of fibres fed to the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4.

The fibres 24 can also be controlled rather precisely through the use of a pressure roller 27 disposed above the rollers 21 and 22 and operative to push the fibres into the needle-like projections of the controlling roller 22. The diameter of the pressure roller 27 can be and should be in some way correlated with the length of the textile fibres 24 since, for longer length fibres, the path through the machine must be somewhat straighter than for fibres of shorter length wherein more curvature can be tolerated. Each roller 27 is mounted in an easily removable manner so that it can be rapidly replaced by a roller of a different diameter when the quality or length of the fibres passing through the machine is changed.

As can best be seen from FIGURE 3, there is, in addition to the pressure roller or cylinder 27, a further pressure roller or cylinder 28 which cooperates with the feeding roller 21. For each particular head of the machine, a roller 27 and a roller 28 are provided, with such rollers respectively being mounted upon shafts 27a and 28a disposed at opposite ends of a balance member or arm 31. The arm 31 pivots at its center about an axis 32 and is mounted to permit vertical sliding in an upstanding support member 33 attached to the pivot arm 11. A spring member 35 is interposed between the arm 11 and the balance arm 31 to normally bias the rollers 27 and 28 downwardly toward the feeding and controlling rollers.

A machine including the basic principles and mechanisms described hereinabove could accommodate, for example, four individual ribbons of textile fibres 24, with one such ribbon being provided for each particular head. If each of the ribbons had a density or weight of 6 grams per meter, the overall machine would be accommodating a weight of 24 grams per meter. It has been found that this weight can be accommodated on a machine having an overall width of only 5 cm. for the rollers, and thus each centimeter of width of a roller supports a portion of the strand weighing about 5 grams per meter. This is approximately 5 to 6 times more weight than can be accommodated by a conventional or prior art form of machine.

The present invention also makes it possible to obtain strands which feed out or dispense at a higher speed than it is possible with conventional machines. Also, in conventional machines, the drop at the terminal end of the machine causes irregularities in the fibres of the dispensed strand, while the machine of the present invention eliminates this problem and assures that the fibres of the strand will be uniform and continuous. It must also be appreciated that prior art forms of machines which used needlelike projections had the same spaced quite distant from one another, while the machine of the present invention divides the needle-like projections equally into all directions. Finally, the present invention permits the strand which is processed by the machine to be deposited directly into containers 41, thereby assuring that the strand can never double or fold upon itself, can never inflate, and is never left hanging freely, as was the practice with prior art forms of machines.

All of this is clearly illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5 which show two containers 41 and 42 at the exit end of a machine furnishing four strands 24 into groups of two. The machine shown in FIGURE 4 is a schematic illustration of a prior art form of machine, while the machine shown in FIGURE 5 is a schematic illustration of the machine forming the present invention. If reference is made to FIGURE 4, it will be seen that the strands being dispensed from the conventional machine shown therein must separate laterally along a vertical median M and must then converge into the containers 41 and 42 which are spaced some distance from the machine. Thus, these strands travel a great distance obliquely without any support, which causes the strands to inflate or to fold over and double upon themselves. In contrast, if attention is directed to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that the strands dispensed from the machine of the present invention feed directly downwardly through the rotating cover 45 of the containers 41 and 42, and thus have virtually no free or oblique movement. As such, the strands fabricated by the machine of the present. invention do not inflate or redouble.

The device of the present invention, as should be apparent, thus offers many specific advantages over prior art and conventional forms of apparatus. Not only does this invention permit the strands to be dispensed into containers in an efficient manner and thereby prevent any inflating or redoubling thereof, but also this invention permits such strands to be dispensed at considerably high rates of speed than was possible with prior art types of machines. 'In all such prior art machines, there was a bar provided at the exit end of the mechanism and the speed of dispensing was necessarily limited by the inertia of this bar and of the operating mechanism. However, by eliminating this bar in the instant invention, it is possible to get strand delivery speeds well in excess of meters per minute, and in fact, speeds of between 120 and 200 meters per minute are possible.

Having now described some of the basic aspects of the invention, the various other members and mechanisms contained herein will be described. Thus, in FIGURES l and 3, there are shown two cylinders 51 and 52 at the inlet end of the machine. The lower cylinder 51 is supported by the frame 8 of the machine, while the upper cylinder 52 is freely mounted in vertical slots in supporting side members 53. Thus, t-he upper cylinder is freely vertically movable, and its own weight serves to abut it against the lower cylinder 51.

At the exit end of the dispensing machine for each head, the strands of material pass successively through a guiding means or ring 55, over a pulley 56, through a second guiding means or ring 57 and into and through a guide means or ring 58 on the cover 45 of the container 41. The cover 45 is rotatable by .a mechanism to be presently described to thereby bring the strands into superposed convolutions on the interior of the container 41, and similarly for the container 42. For each particular dispensing head, the textile fibres 24 are maintained on their path of travel by guide devices such as those shown at 61 in FIGURE 3.

In order to clean the upper dispensing cylinder 4, a cleaning cylinder 37 is juxtaposed thereto, as shown in FIGURE 3, with the cleaning cylinder being supported by the pivot arm 11. Similarly, a cleaning brush 38 can be provided for cleaning the needle-like projections on the controlling roller 22, with the brush 38 being suitably supported in the frame 8 of the machine.

As was previously indicated, the upper dispensing cylinder 4 bears with high pressure against the lower dispensing cylinder 3, with the pressure of the cylinders against each other being in the order of 8 kilograms per centimeter of width. To accomplish such pressure, a spring system is utilized to bias the pivot arm 11 in the direction of the arrow 1, shown in FIGURE 1. Such a spring system will be described hereinafter.

The spring system includes a helical compression spring 65, as shown in FIGURE 1, whose upper end abuts against a support 66 aflixed to the frame of the machine and whose lower end is coupled to a lever 67. The coupling between the lower end of the spring and the outer end of the lever 67 is a pivotal coupling, and can be accomplished in any suitable fashion, as for example, the utilization of a pivot pin 68 which passes through the lever and a yoke 69 provided at the base of the spring. The opposite or inner end of the lever 67 is pivotally attached at 71 to the frame 8 of the machine. An upstanding shaft 72 has its lower end attached to the lever 67 near its pivot point 61, with such attachment being created by a member 73, While the upper end of the shaft 72 attaches to a member 75 pivotally mounted at 76 to the arm 11. As can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 3, a handle 78 extends rearwardly from the member 75, and such handle can be manually pushed either in direction 1 or in direction f2 to thereby effect a locking or unlocking action, as will be more clearly described hereinafter.

Referring back to the compression spring 65, the upper support 66 therefor can be regulated in height on the frame of the machine through the expedient of a vertical groove 81 and a manual locking device 82 which can terminate travel at any point along the groove 81. The maximum extension of the spring 65 is determined by contact of the upper face of the supporting member 66 with a nut 84 mounted on the end of a threaded shaft 85 which projects through the interior of the spring from the lower yoke 69. During operation of the apparatus, the amplitude of the movement of the spring 65 is quite small compared to the length of the spring, thereby enabling the spring to be utilized to apply great pressure to the dispensing cylinder 4 to thereby cause it to bear against the other dispensing cylinder 3. In this regard, it will be noted that another helical compression spring 87 is disposed along the base of the shaft 72 above the lever 67, but is maintained in contact with the upper face of the lever 67 by a fixed disc 88 along the shaft 72.

This spring system is, in effect, a force multiplication system which applies a very strong, yet at the same time, flexible, pressure on the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4. Noting that the shaft 72 intersects with the lever 67 at the point of contact 73, it will be seen that opposed lever arms are formed on opposite sides of this point of contact 73. The shorter of these lever arms extends between the axis of pivotal mounting at 71 and the connection 73, while the larger of these lever arms extends from the connection 73 to the axis 68 at the outer end of the lever 67 where the spring is connected. The downward compressive force of the spring 65 is thus multiplied through this lever arm system and delivered to the shaft 72.

It is important to note that the shaft 72 is not completely linear, but instead, is slightly curved or bent at an obtuse angle of almost 180. This minor curvature or bending of the shaft 72 enables the same to absorb vibrations which might occur during operation of the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4.

Thus, once the entire spring system has been connected in the manner just described, the only adjustment which need be made to vary the pressure of the dispensing cylinders is that of the locking device 82 in conjunction with the slidable groove 81. Merely by loosening the locking device 82 and selectively raising or lowering the supporting member 66, one can control the pressure of the dispensing cylinders 3 and 4 with a high degree of precision, and can thereby control the thickness and nature of the strands produced by the apparatus.

In the position illustrated in the drawings, the member 75 is in a pressure applying position. That is, the hooked upper end of the shaft 72 is in engagement with the member 75 and is thereby forcing the pivoted arm 11 downwardly. This, in turn, causes the upper dispensing cylinder 4 to exert a very high pressure against the lower dispensing cylinder 3. In order to release this pressure, and to unlock the member 75, it is merely necessary to lift upwardly on the handle 78 attached thereto, thereby moving the handle and member in the direction indicated by the arrow f2 in FIGURE 3. By thus pivoting the member 75 above the axis 76, the downward engaging pressure of the shaft 72 is released and the spring 65 becomes inoperative due to contact between the nut 84 and the upper face of the supporting member 66. Thus, the hooked upper end of the shaft 72 is free and can merely be removed from the member 75 thereby making it possible to lift the entire pivot arm 11 and to swing the same about its axis 12. Unlocking the handle 78 in this manner thus releases the pressure from the pressure cylinders 27 and 28 and at the same time releases the pressure which the upper dispensing cylinder 4 exerts against the lower dispensing cylinder 3. At this time, if desired, the upper dispensing cylinder 4 can be removed, and the upper feeding cylinder 2 can likewise be lifted out of its supporting slots, in the member 17. Even though the upper end of the shaft 72 can be removed from the member 75 when the handle 78 is thus lifted upwardly, the shaft 72 nevertheless remains in a generally upright position under the influence of the spring 87. Thus, it is a simple matter to reattach the upper end of the shaft 72 with the member 75.

The entire operation of the machine is controlled by a single electric motor 91 supported on a wall 92 which is attached to the frame 8 of the machine. The motor 91 is coupled by a chain transmission 93 into a shaft 94 of a gear box 95. Another shaft 96 extends from the gear box 95, as shown in FIGURES l and 3, and this shaft is coupled by a chain transmission 101 to a common mounting shaft for the fluted lower cylinders 5 for the four dispensing heads. As previously indicated, and as can be seen from the drawings, this fluted cylinder 5 is closely juxtaposed to the lower dispensing cylinder 3, and the manner of driving connection for the dispensing cylinder 3 is best shown in FIGURE 2. In that figure, it will be seen that a ring gear 104 is attached to the end of the driven shaft upon which the fluted rollers 5 are mounted. A pinion 105 engages with this ring gear 104 and is coupled to the shaft upon which the various dispensing cylinders 3, for each dispensing head, are mounted. Thus, as the chain drive 101 operates or rotates the fluted cylinders 5, the ring gear and pinion 104 and 105 assure that the dispensing cylinders 3 will likewise be driven or rotated.

In order to operate the feeding cylinders 1 and 2, a chain drive 106 extends from the drive shaft for the cylinders 5 to the drive shaft for the driven feeding cylinders 1.

Considering the drive means for the feeding roller 21 and the controlling roller 22, it will be noted that a gear drive 107 connects from the feeding cylinders 1 to the shaft supporting the feeding rollers 21, and thus as the feeding cylinders are driven by the chain drive 106, the feeding rollers 21 are likewise driven through operation of the gear means 107. As for the controlling roller 22, it will be noted that another gear means 109 is connected between the shaft supporting the feeding roller 21 and the shaft supporting the controlling roller 22. Thus, rotation or driving of the feeding rollers in the manner just described, will cause a corresponding driving of the controlling rollers 22.

T o accomplish coiling of the dispensed strands into the containers 4] and 42-, a chain drive 111 is provided as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, with such chain drive being primarily operated by a driven shaft 97 extending from the gear box 95. The rotatable covers 45 on the containers are coupled with the gear drive 111, as shown in FIGURE 2, and thus as the chain drive 111 operates, the covers 45 are rotated thereby moving the guide rings 58 in a circular path and causing the strands feeding therethrough to be coiled into convolutions within the container.

Finally, each of the containers 41 and 42 is likewise rotated about its own vertical axis, and this rotation is assured by a transmission chain 113, as shown in FIG- URE 1, which extends from the driving motor 91 to a gear box 114, and in turn by a driven shaft 115 extending from this gear box to a chain transmission 116 which engages with the base of the containers 41 and 42 and serves to rotate the same.

The various supporting bearings and members for the lower cylinders and rollers of the apparatus have been illustrated only schematically in FIGURE 2, but by reference to this figure, it will be seen that the feeding or holding cylinders 1 are supported by members 121, the feeding rollers 21 are supported by members 122, the control-ling rollers 22 are supported by members 123, the lower dispensing cylinders 3 are supported by members 124, and the supplemental lower dispensing cylinders 5 are supported by members 125.

It will, of course, be obvious that certain changes can be made in the structure described hereinabove without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the pressure members 27 and 28 were described hereinbefore as rotating cylinders 27 and 28. The invention is not necessarily limited to these features, and, for example, it might be convenient to use some other similar pressure applying members such as smooth plates of stainless steel or some other metal, or of suitable plastic material, possibly of the self-lubricating type such as Teflon, i.e., polytetrafiuoroethylene. However, certain other aspects of the invention cannot be varied or else the desired results cannot be accomplished by the present invention. For example, the needle-like projections from the feeding roller and the controlling roller cannot intersect with one another, and it is thus vital that these two rollers be spaced a sufficient distance apart to prevent such intersection. Similarly, both the feeding and controlling rollers must be disposed on the same side of the cloth, either both above or both beneath, and cannot be disposed with one of these rollers being above the cloth and the other beneath it.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it should be apparent to the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have been successfully achieved by the present invention. Accordingly,

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispensing device for textile fibres, the combination comprising:

first cooperating roll means for introducing textile second cooperating roll means spaced away from said first cooperating roll means for dispensing said textile fibres;

engaging means disposed between said first and second cooperating roll means for processing said textile fibres travelling through said dispensing device;

said engaging means including a pair of spaced apart rollers mounted for contact with a surface of said textile fibres; each of said rollers having a plurality of needle-like projections formed upon their outer surface with needle-like projections engaging against the textile fibres travelling through said dispensing device;

said rollers being spaced a sufficient distance apart to preclude the needle-like projections on one roller from intermeshing with the needle-like projections on the other roller;

that one of said rollers being located closest to said first cooperating roll means being designated the feeding roller and that one of said rollers being located closest to said second cooperating roll means being designated the controlling roller;

said feeding roller needle-like projections engaging said textile fibres to advance the same to said controlling roller;

said controlling roller needle-like projections engaging said textile fibres to comb the same into parallel arrangement;

said second cooperating roll means receiving said textile fibres from said engaging means and dispensing the same from said device as a strand travelling at high speed;

a pair of spring biased pressure rollers;

both of said pair of pressure rollers being juxtaposed to,

and cooperating with, said feeding roller for pushing and maintaining said textile fibres in said feeding roller needle-like projections; and

one of said pair of pressure rollers being juxtaposed to,

and cooperating with, both said feeding roller and said controlling roller for pushing and maintaining said textile fibres in said feeding roller and said controlling roller needle-like projections.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said second cooperating roll means includes a pair of rolls; said device further including means pressing said pair of rolls together with high pressure; wherein one of the rolls of said pair of rolls is mounted upon a pivotal arm; and wherein the means for pressing said pair of rolls together includes a spring system exerting a bias upon said pivotal arm.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said device further includes a centrally supported balance arm;

said pressure rollers are mounted upon opposite ends of said centrally supported balance arm;

and wherein said balance arm is spring biased for urging said balance arm toward said engaging means. 4. In a dispensing device for textile fibres, the combination comprising: first cooperating roll means for introducing textile fibers; second cooperating roll means spaced away from said first cooperating roll means for dispensing said textile fibres; engaging means disposed between said first and second cooperating roll means for processing said textile fibres travelling through said dispensing device; said engaging means including a pair of spaced apart rollers mounted for contact with a surface of said textile fibres; each of said rollers having a plurality of needle-like projections formed upon their outer surface with said needlelike projections engaging against the textile fibres travelling through said dispensing device; said rollers being spaced a sufficient distance apart to preclude the needlelike projections on one roller from intermeshing with the needle-like projections on the other roller; that one of said rollers being located closest to said first cooperating roll means being designated the feeding roller and that one of said rollers being located closest to said second cooperating roll means being designated the controlling roller; said feeding roller needle-like projections engaging said textile fibres to advance the same to said controlling roller; said controlling roller needle-like projections engaging said textile fibres to comb the same into parallel arrangement; said second cooperating roll means receiving said textile fibres from said engaging means and dispensing the same from said device as a strand travelling at high speed; said first cooperating roll means comprising a pair of relatively large roll means having their axes aligned in the same vertical plane; said second cooperating roll means compris ing a second pair of substantially aligned roll means of different diameters with the roll means of smaller diameter lying below that of the larger diameter roll means and being of lesser diameter than the diameter of said first cooperating roll means; said feeding roller and controlling roller being of larger diameter than the diameter of said smaller diameter roller with the feeding roller being of larger diameter than the controlling roller; said engaging means further including a pair of spring biased pressure rollers, both of said pair of pressure rollers cooperating with said feeding roller; and one of said pair of pressure rollers cooperating with both said feeding roller and said controlling roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,362,603 12/ 1920 Crane 19-282 XR 1,633,029 6/ 1927 Laurency 19-128 1,933,222 10/ 1933 Rooney 19294 2,107,818 2/1938 Elzer 19-236 2,197,638 4/1940 Hain 19269 2,633,608 4/1953 Bodell 19258 XR 2,884,664 5/1959 Solanas 19282 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 264,574 1/ 1927 Great Britain 830,614 3/ 1960 Great Britain.

559,301 3/1957 Italy.

580,884 8/ 1958 Italy.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

D. NEWTON, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 19-279 

